Vincent to face CLT20 charges

Lou Vincent will be charged with fixing offences under the anti-corruption code of the Champions League Twenty20 tournament, jointly administered by the governing bodies of India, Australia and South Africa.

ESPNcricinfo understands the charges will relate to Vincent's appearances for the Auckland Aces at both the 2011 edition of the tournament, held in India, and the 2012 event in South Africa.

Auckland lost both of their qualifying matches in 2011 but reached the main draw the following year, with Vincent taking part in every match.

The charges, reportedly being prepared by Cricket Australia's general manager of legal and business affairs and Champions League technical director Dean Kino, are expected to be formally laid next month after the conclusion of the IPL.

They will follow the revelation that the ECB has charged Vincent and a fellow former Sussex team-mate, Naved Arif, with fixing offences for a county limited-overs match in August 2011.

Vincent's charges are the first fruit of a long-running investigation conducted jointly by the ICC's anti-corruption and security unit, in conjunction with integrity officials in England, Australia and India.

Under its present code, the ACSU is not permitted to fully pursue investigations or initiate charges against players for offences related to domestic matches in any format, leaving the onus upon boards responsible for the tournaments in which alleged offences have taken place to do so.

CLT20 charges against Vincent will not be formally announced, as the tournament's anti-corruption code forbids the publication of charges or the naming of "participants" until the case has been heard by a disciplinary committee and a finding reached.

This clause is in line with the anti-corruption codes of Cricket Australia, the BCCI and the ICC, which all stipulate that players are not to be officially named until the case has been concluded. The ECB's anti-corruption code states that a name can be released when the charge has been laid.

After news of the charges laid by the ECB, Vincent issued a statement through his lawyer acknowledging that further charges were likely and saying it proved he had not made any plea-bargains with the ICC.

"The fact of the charges, and more are likely, dispel any notions of a plea bargain having been done as unfortunately appears to be wrongly suggested by others."